Typewriting machine



1 62 ,4 April 1927 J. Ada. SMITH 3 5 TYPEWRITING MACHILNE Filed Feb. 27, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 1,623,445 Apnl 5, 1927. J. A. B. SMHTH TYPEWHI'TING MACHINE Filed Feb. 2'7. 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Apr. 5, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT? orrlcs.

JESSE A. .B. SMITH, OF STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR T UNDERWOOD TYPE- WRITER COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y-, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

TYPEWRITING MACHINE.

Application filed February 27, 1925. Serial No. 11,952.

' where there is suspended from it a stencilcard by a suitable clampwhich grips the card at its upper edge. After attachment of the stencil-card, the holder is lowered to locate the card relatively to the printing 'point of the platen, or, in other words, in its typing position. The line-spacing of the stencil-card is effected by a finger-wheel on the stencil-carrying frame, which is rotated j by the typistafter the typing of each line.

An object of the present invention is to expedite the operation of the device. To this end, one feature is the provision of means to enable the stencil-card to be attached to the holder by pushing it down into the holder, thus avoiding the necessity of lifting the holder in order to attach the stencil-card. For this purpose the stencilholder comprises two guide-fingers extending downwardly from the forward ends of said holder, said guide-fingers having at their lower ends inturned portions or ears to engage the lower end of the stencil-card to raise said card during line-spacing operations of the stencil-holder. These fingers are flexible,.and are not required to hold the stencil-card against the platen, but merely to assist in line-spacing the stencil-card. To hold the card against the platen, there is provided a stationary guide which is elongated so as to extend beyond the range of travel of the card-holding fingers, so as to prevent any possibility of collision of said fingers with the ends of said guide. Another feature of the invention relates to means to expedite or facilitate the operations of line-spacing the card and returning the carriage. To this end, there is provided on the carriage a hold which may be engaged by the wrist ,of the typist, so that the h 59 carriage may be returned by the wrist while the fingers are reaching back to the fingerwheel of the line-spacing. mechanism to rohate it.

thereis supported on the is held a'celluloid'backing'by means of a.

' the platen, (the latter having a detent-wheel Another feature of the invention relates to the use of celluloid as a backing for the stencil-card. The advantages of using celluloid between the stencil-card and the rubber platen of the typewriter are well known. It has been the practice to fasten a celluloid panel upon the platen, by means of screws or other attaching devices. This has rendered it necessary to provide a specially built platen for stenciling purposes, which is an objection, and it has also rendered the platen unsuitable for ordinary correspondence work, which is a further objection. Moreover 1t is necessary to rotate the platen backwardly preparatory to typing each card.

One of the objects of'the present invention 15 to provide simple and inexpensive means for overcoming these difliculties. To that. end, the platen is silent during the line- I feeding of the stencil; and against the platen holding device mounted on the platen-frame.

The celluloid backing is worn on one line only,notwithstanding that each stencil is spaced line by line. The celluloid backing is in the form of a strip, and as soon as one line thereof becomes worn out, it may be advanced to bring a fresh line thereof into use,=this advance being. effected by the aid 'of the device which holds the strip against and detent to maintain the celluloid strip in eachposit-ion. to which it is set by the revolution of the platen). A lengthy strip is provided, whereby a vast succession of successive renewals of wearing surfaces. can be brought into use at the printing line,

and whereby, upon the removal of the entire strip when worn out. a fresh strip may be immediately and easily inserted, presenting a vast succession of new wearing surfaces. Thus the manipulation of a celluloid backing is greatly simplified, andthe cost is much reduced, and it becomes unnecessary to rotate the platen back preparatory to typing with every fresh stencil-card; and

when it is desired to use the platen for correspondence work, itis only. necessary to pull'off the celluloid strip. I I I The celluloid strip is held in place at thetopof the platen by a special feed-roller,

which-may be released'to permit insertion of said roller; By the co-operation of roller and platen the celluloid strip is fed up into use, line by line,

under the platen and up around the same,

the surplus strip hanging from the back of the carriage. 1

Provision is made to enable typing through the ribbon on the upper border of the card. To this end, ribbon-controlling device is used comprising two keys, one of which is eifective, when operated, to connect the ribbon-vibrating mechanism, so

thatthe ribbon may be vibratedupon the actuation of the type-bars, the other .key being effective, when operated, to disconnect the ribbon-vibrating mechanism.

A further feature of the invention relates to means comprising a handle, located in a convenient posit-ion, to be operated to release the card-holder'from the line-spacing mechanism, so that it may be readily located yin its lowermost position.

Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 .is a sectlonal side view of a por- 1 tion of an -Underwood typewriting machine, showing the invention'applied thereto, the

stencil-card being in its lowermost positionfor receiving the first line of typing. the section being taken on the line 1--1 of Figure 5.

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic view similar to Figure 1, showing the stencil-card in its highest position.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary front view,

.' when the key is depressed. To control the showing the ribbon-controlling keys.

Figured is a perspective View, showing the fingers of the card-holder. I Figure 5 is a top plan view of the carriage, showing the device applied thereto.

Figure 6 is" a front View of the parts shown in Figure 5.

Fi re 7 is a front view, on a slightly smal er scale, showing the stationary guide relative to the card-holding fingers.

A stencil-card 10, upon which it 1s desired to' type, is inserted bottom edge first, between card-holding pieces 11, in front of a "platen 12, which receives the blows of typebars 13. The card is laterally guided between bent portions "l hiorming an integral part of the card-holding pieces, and are flared out at '1-5'to" facilitate'the insertion of -Vthe card. To further,facilitate'the quick insertion of the cards the card-holding pieces are also flared out at 16, thus forman inwardly-extending bent of the card.. It is sometimes desirable to, write with the use of the ribbon upon the 1 frame of the card, and then withdraw the ribbon and cut upon the stencil-sheet with the bare type. To this end, mechanism is' provided whereby the ribbon may be manually controlled to vibrate the ribbon when writing upon the frame, and to silence the same when cutting the stencil-sheet. To facilitate the operation, the regular-mechanism in the Underwoodmachine is slightly modified in thepresent invention, -to the end that instead of the operative having to control a special hand-lever to silence-the ribbon, a key 18 at the end of a lever 19 may be used. The ribbon-vibrating mechanism is fully disclosed in the patent to F. A. Cook, No. 926,050, dated June 22,

1909, and need not herein be described. As modified in the present invention, the key '18 of the lever 19, which is rockably mounted on the frame of the machine, is operative to silence the ribbon, while the key 20 is operative to vibrate the ribbon. The

vibrating mechanism comprises a ribbonvibrator -21 a'nd a lever 22'to operate the latter, said lever being fulcrumed at 23 on a bracket 24 which is fast to the shift-frame 25. A pin 26 on the lever 22 engages with a slot 27 in a bracket 28, which is in turn operatively mounted on the universal bar 29. When the latter, is operated, it causes the bracket 28 to move rearwardly, and to rock the lever 22, thus lifting the ribbon at:

the striking of each type-bar. The bracket 28 is slidably mountedon anangular piece 30, and by means of linkage, not shown, is

thrown out of engagement with the pin movement of the key 18, and to prevent pilr 31 will be thrown into engagement with a slot in the piece 32, thus vibrating the ribbon to render effective the lower portion of the ribbon, there are provided a screw 33fast on the ,frame of the machine, and a detent-spring 34 having two indentations co-operating with a pin-35 0n the lever 19, so that, when the lever is rocked to its moutral position, as shown in Figure 3, the

pin 26 is pulled out of engagement with the,

bracket 28, and consequently the ribbon is not vibrated when the universal bar isoperated.

facilitate the returning of the can" riage, while line-spacing the card, the can,

riage is provided with a wrist support 36 which is fast to the carriage-frame by means ofe screws 37. Upon rotating. 0.

back of the wrist is rested against the wrist- I piece to return the carriage, thus simultaneously and with the same hand the card may be line-spaced and. the carriage returned. The wrist-piece' is formed hollow to fit the shape of the wrist.

For line-spacing the card, there is pro-' vided mechanism whereby the free end of a rocka'ble support or frame 39 is raised by means of a cam 40 rotatably mounted on said frame and backed by an adjustably mounted supporting piece 41' mounted on the carriage through an arm 69. The rocking frame comprises two end plates 42 joined together by a crossbar-43, and is rockably mounted on a cross-shaft 44 at the rear of the machine. At the front the frame carries the card-holding pieces 11 fast thereto by means of screws 45 fitting into holes 46. in this kind of device, one form of which is disclosed in said patent to Elliott, a spring,

. not shown, is loaded or' wound up during the line-spacing of the card, as the finger-wheel 38 is rotated to store up ower to automatically reset the card-holding pieces to their normal position. For holding the cam in place against the pressure ofthe restoring spring, there are provided a ratchet 47 and a' retaining pawl 48, the latter being rockably mounted on a screw 49 which is fast to the frame, and is controlled in itsinov'ement by a pin-and-slot arrangement 50.

It is sometimes desirable to differently space the lines of typing upon the stencil s set, and to this end the relative position of the cam 40 and the ratchet- 47 is shiftable by withdrawing a pin in the ratchet from engagement with one of the holes 51in the engagement with the pawl 48. It will be.

noted that the teeth 52 of the ratchet 47 are of the same size to control the spacing between the first line of typing upon the frame of the card and the first line of typing upon rotated to its normal position, as shown in Figure 1, in, which the camis arrested by a pin 71'fast to the frame 39. a

In order to protect the platen of the machine when the same is struck by the bare type, and to facilitate the cutting of the stencil, there is provided a backing 68 in the form of a strip of comparatively hardma- -'terial having a supply which may be inserted around the platen, down a rear table 54 under the p aten' co-operating with feedrolls 55, and up in front of the platen past ibecomes worn out.

the printing point, and back, under pressure roll 56, and over a guide-piece 57. The pressure roll rockably mounted upon a cross-shaft 58, and'is held against the platen by the pressure of a spring 59 wound around the shaft 58. In order to correct the bulging of .the strip, and in order to laterally reposition the strip in case of accidental shifting, the pressure roll is provided with a finger-piece 60, \Vllitll forms an integral part of the bail 61, supporting the shaft 62.upon which the roll 56 is rcvolubly mounted.

It will be understood that the card-hold fast to the frame of the machine by means of screws 64. Said plate 63 extends beyond the travel of the card-holding pieces 11, so as 'to overlie the latter in all positions, and to platen, The plate is further provided with a cut-out 65 to clear the types when striking the platen 12, which' is mounted on platenframe 66 upon a shaftwhich carries at the end a finger-wheel 67 to line-space the backing around the platen as it gradually .Th ebacking 68 may be a comparatively rear of the machine, and, due to'the nature of the material which wears out on one side only when the bare type cuts into the surface, may be reversed, if desired, to double its wearing surface.

V ariations may be resorted to within the scope of the invention, and ,ortions of the improven'ients'may be used without others.

Having thus described my invention,- I

claim:

I 1. In a front-strike stencil-card typing machine, the'combination with a platen, of a liftable overhead frame, a carriage-for said platen and frame, a card-holding frame con-' nected; at its top end to the front of said overhead frame and suspended in front of the platen and having side and bottom gages for a card, and a guard erected upon'the framework of the machine and extending along the platen and confining said cardholding frame between the guard and the platen, and means for elevating said overhead frame step by step together with'said card-holding frame, the latter being confined ,by said guard during all elevating and lowering movements of said overhead frame.

2. In a front-strike machine for. typing on stencil-cards, the combination with a platen, of an overhead frame movable up and down relatively to the platen, frame carried pendent by said overhead frame at the front of the platen, and a ard for maintaining said card-holding tame a card-holdin hold the card sligh ly curved againstthe fingers while his wrist is returning the carriage.

which in position with a card carried thereby and down relatively to the platen, a pair of card-holding devices suspended at the front of the "platen from said overhead frame, each of said devices including side and bottom gages for a card and outwardlyfia'red portions for entry of said card behind said flared portions and against the platen and thence to gaging position, and a guard for maintaining said devices with the card so held in all up-and-down movements of said overhead frame.

4. In a front-strike machine'for typing on stencil-cards, the combination with a platen, of an overhead frame from the front end of which a stencil-card is suspended in front of the platen, a carriage for the platen and frame, a wrist-hold erected upon the right-hand portion of the carriage for returning the same to begin a new line of typing, a cam-mechanism for elevatin said frame and card step by step, and a. fingerwheel' for operating said cammechanism,

said wrist-holdbeing in such position relativeiy to the finger-wheel as to enable the operator to'rotate said finger-wheel by his 5. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a platen and a letter spacing carriage therefor, of an arm-hold fixed to the carriage for returning the same to begin anewline of typing. and means for enabling an operator to line-space a work-piece through use of the finger of the same hand while his arm is returning the carriage.

6. In a typewriting machine, in combination, a carriage and a platen therefor,a

stencil-cutting device operable to present p the free end of the frame to line-space the stencil-card to the printing field in front of the platen, said stencil-device including a support rockably mounted on a shaft at the rear of the machine, a card-holding device fast to the free end of the support, and means to line-space the card, said means in-.

cluding a cam operatively mounted on said support, a stud fast on the carriage and upon the cam rests, and a finger-wheel to rotate the cam to raise the free end of the support and the card, and means for facilitating the return of the carriage, said lastmentioned means including a wrist-hod fast on the carriage in such position that as the .by the card relatively 7. In a typewriting machine, in nation, a carriage and a platen therefor, a

combistencil-device borne by said carriage and operable to present a stencil-card in front of the platen, said stencil-device including a frame rockably mounted on a cross-shaft at the rear of the machine, means for raising the free end of the frame,- and card-holding pieces carried by said frame to support the stencil-card, said card-holding pieces mov ing with the carriage to letterfeed the card, and a guard fiiged relatively to the carriage and co-operating with said card-holding piecesvto hold the card against the platen.

8. In a typew-riting machine, in combination, a carriage and a platen therefor, a stencil-device borne by said carriage and operable to present astencil-card in front of the platen, saidstencil-dwice including a frame rockably mounted on a cross-shaft at the rear of the machine, means for raising the free end of the frame, and card-holding pieces carried by said frame to support the stencil-device borne by said carriage and openable to present a stencil-card in front of the platen, said stencil-devicelncluding a frame rockably mounted on a cross-shaft at front of the type to clear the the rear of the machine, means for raising card, said means including a cam revolubly mounted on said frame and an adjustable,

support-in the form of an eccentric disk upon which the cam Tests and revolves, said ec'- centric disk being supported on the carriage of the machine and adjustable to effect minute variations in the working positions of said frame, and means for holding said disk in any selected position about its/ eccentric axis, whereby to adjust the frame and there-' tothe printing line.

JESSE A. B. SMITH; 

